I’m headed down to the Omaha, Nebraska area today to get ready for O-CON EXPO this weekend! I’m staying with family and it’ll be nice to catch up with them after I’m done with load-in for the show. It’s the first time I’ll be seeing them in a few years, it’s the first time they’ll be meeting my son, and it’s the first time my son and I are traveling via airplane together.
My wife has more experience with him on planes than I do. She’s taken him on several trips to visit friends and family while I’ve stayed behind to watch our cats and our house. From everything she’s told me he’s well-behaved and courteous to his fellow passengers. I should have nothing to worry about! But, of course, I’m worrying.
There are a few factors that have me anxious.
The first is that, quite frankly, he likes hanging out with his mom more than he likes hanging out with me. I’m the one he sees all the time since I work from home, I’m the one enforcing the rules more, I’m the one who gets angry when he crosses boundaries, I’m the one who (I hate to admit) loses his temper sometimes. So my biggest parental worry is that he’s not going to enjoy traveling with me because Mom isn’t around.
The second is that I’m putting him to work. I’m bringing as many Legacy and Oracle for Hire books on the plane as I can carry, and he’s an extra set of hands (and luggage). With his help I’ll have enough books to make the trip worthwhile, provided folks there want to buy them. The problem is that he, like so many ten-year-olds, gets really whiny when he’s forced to do something he doesn’t want to, and helping Dad lug his merchandise through an airport is probably not going to be on the top of his Fun list. With any luck, I’ll have a lot less books on the plane ride home. Fingers crossed!
But it’s only the travel that’s making me nervous. My relatives in Omaha are very eager to meet my son and have lots of fun things planned for him while I’m at O-Con Expo. He won’t be stuck behind a convention table for the weekend, so he’ll be seeing new things and having fun while I’m working (and hopefully very busy).
Wish me luck in my travels today and wish me luck at O-Con Expo, hopefully in person if you’re in the area!